States like Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana which have higher than median per capita income have fared low in ESI. These states have exhausted much of its resources and the pollution load on ecosystem is also high. Onthe hand, states like Orissa, Bihar, Assam and Karnataka have demonstrated better environmental performance despite the lower per-capita GDP. As these state's econmoies grow, controlling pollution and conserving resources is going to be an important challenge.

The greatest challenge is for the Low ESI - Low GDP states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

It is desirable to have more states in Higher ESI - Higher GDP, at present only 2 states (Kerala and Himachal) are in this segment.